


You look so good dressed in all white, you know

by fromourpast



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27569869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromourpast/pseuds/fromourpast
Summary: This isn't the day Erin and Holtzmann dreamt they'd have.
Relationships: Erin Gilbert/Jillian Holtzmann
Comments: 15
Kudos: 22





	You look so good dressed in all white, you know

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by and title taken from 'Paris' by The Brevet

Holtzmann skidded around the corner and then took off at a sprint down the carpeted hallway. Down at the end of it, Abby was madly pounding on a closed door.

“Erin, if you don’t open this door, I swear to god I will scale the side of the building and punch my way through the window!” she yelled. “Don’t test me!”

She hadn’t caught sight of Holtz yet. This was good for Holtz, and not good for Abby.

Holtzmann hazarded a quick and calculated look over her shoulder at the precise moment that Patty careened around the same corner that she had cleared a few seconds prior. Patty had longer legs, but Holtz was the faster runner, so they were evenly paced—the only real advantage being that Holtz had a head start of twelve seconds. That lead had diminished to seven seconds now. Patty was gaining on her.

“Holtzy, get your ass back here!” she bellowed down the hallway.

That was finally loud enough to catch Abby’s attention. She turned her head, got a load of Holtz hurtling down the hall, and her mouth fell open. “What the crap? Patty, you had one job! All you had to do was keep her away from this door. That’s it!” She pivoted and planted herself firmly in front of the door.

Holtzmann dove forward into a somersault, neatly dodging Abby and popping up on the other side of her.

Patty arrived, huffing and puffing. “It’s not my fault her crazy ass needs to be watched 24/7! I turned my head for _two seconds—_ ”

“Twelve,” Holtzmann corrected happily.

“—and next thing I knew, girl was vaulting over a caterer to get away!”

Holtz threw her hands in the air. “And she stuck the landing. Aren’t you glad you let me take gymnastics lessons?”

Abby glared over her shoulder at her. “It doesn’t matter anyway. The door is barricaded, so you’re not getting in there.” She turned back to Patty. “I believe I gave you _specific_ instructions not to take your eyes off her.”

“Oh, come on, like you’re doing much better.” Patty waved at the door. “Could hear you yelling from halfway across the hotel.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault she locked herself in there!”

Meanwhile, while they argued back and forth, Holtzmann pressed her ear up against the door and very discreetly rapped her knuckle four times. She could hear muted scuffling, and then quick as a flash the door opened and she slipped inside before Abby or Patty had time to react.

They both shouted her name at the same time, but it was too late—she had slammed the door shut after her, and Erin was right beside her shoving a chair under the handle.

The pounding on the door and shouting continued, but it faded into the background as Holtz turned to face Erin.

“Thanks for coming,” she said.

“You’re my ride-or-die,” Holtzmann replied matter-of-factly. “There will not be a single time for the rest of our lives that you text, call, or smoke-signal me an SOS and I won’t come running.”

Erin gave her a soft smile. Holtz took a beat to look her up and down and found herself going light-headed after failing to breathe for several seconds. She blinked several times in rapid succession.

“Are you crying?” Erin asked. “I’ve only seen you cry, like, twice in all the time that I’ve known you. You were stone-faced at _Marley & Me_.”

“I was born with a finite number of tears in my ducts,” Holtzmann said. “I’ve had to ration them for moments like this.”

She held out her hand. Erin took it and bit down on her bottom lip, studying her shyly.

“Can I just say that you look _really_ good in white?” Erin said, then dropped her chin with a laugh. “Wow, that was abysmal. I wanted to be smooth, but that just sounded _so_ cheesy. I’m sure you could’ve done way better.”

“Let’s not forget that we’re here today because of the corniest stock pick-up line ever,” Holtzmann reminded her. “In fact…”

She let go of Erin’s hand and leaned back on the door. It shook against her back as they continued to knock on the other side of it. 

“Come here often?” she asked in a low, smooth voice, quirking an eyebrow.

Erin covered her mouth with her hand to hide a smile. Holtz saw it anyway and reached out to grab her hand and tug it out of the way, lacing their fingers together again as she did so.

“Don’t you dare hide that from me,” Holtz said as she tugged them both away from the door and further into the suite. “You’re not allowed to deprive me of my favorite sight in the known universe.”

Erin’s smile widened.

“Atta girl.” Holtzmann came to a stop over by the bed and Erin nearly collided with her, but she steadied her with a hand on her lower back. Then Holtz released her hand again and instead reached up to lightly brush Erin’s sideswept bangs out of her eyes so she could properly get lost in them.

“Do I look okay?” Erin whispered.

Holtz cupped along her jaw and ghosted her thumb over her cheek. “I don’t know anything about fashion, but I do know that you’re scientifically speaking the most beautiful woman that’s ever existed on this planet at any given moment in time in the entire history of the universe.”

The corner of Erin’s mouth hooked up. “That kind of sounds like bad science, Holtz. Where’s your data coming from?”

“You’re right. I’m a bad scientist. Why are you marrying me?”

“I don’t know that I…can, actually?” Erin tilted her head to the side. “I just don’t think I can marry someone who doesn’t share my commitment to the scientific method.”

Holtz clicked her tongue. “Well, we had a good run.”

“We did. I hope we can still be friends.”

Holtzmann shrugged one shoulder. “Meh.”

Erin ducked out of her embrace and stepped back, offering her a hand. “Keep in touch.”

Holtz gave her a businesslike shake, but didn’t let go. Erin broke with a smile and gave her hand a squeeze.

“Are you sad I’m not wearing a suit?” Holtz asked. “I know you love me in a suit.”

“I do,” Erin mused, “love you in a suit. You look _really_ good in a suit. But how could I be sad when you look like _that?_ ” She gestured at her.

“Do you like my cape?”

“I _love_ your cape,” Erin said. “I don’t know that anyone would’ve called that you have a train and I don’t.” She reached out to adjust the boutonniere pinned to Holtz’s lapel. “I also love your jumpsuit. And your blazer—is it supposed to go to your knees, or is that just because you’re short?”

“Touché,” Holtz replied with delight.

Erin stepped around her to sit on the edge of the bed, smoothing down her dress with a sigh.

Holtzmann sat beside her. “Talk to me.” She bent and pressed the back of her hand to the top of Erin’s foot.

“How do they feel?” Erin said dryly.

Holtz sat back up. “Plenty warm to me.”

“That’s probably because your hands are freezing.”

Holtzmann examined her hands. “I’m not as familiar with that expression. What does it mean?”

“Raynaud’s disease,” Erin deadpanned.

Holtz smiled wryly and dropped her head onto Erin’s shoulder, wrapping an arm around her waist.

“Holtz? I really don’t want to do this.”

“That’s okay,” Holtzmann murmured. “My ego is big enough to survive being left at the altar. I’ll bounce back.”

“There are two hundred people gathering downstairs right now,” Erin said. “Two _hundred_. And then three extra hundred coming for the reception. I don’t know five hundred people. Do you?”

“Well, probably. I’m very popular.”

“Why did we say the Mayor could be involved in our wedding?”

“So he’d pay for it.”

“Now he’s turned it into a political event. I don’t _want_ this. I don’t want every second of _our_ night planned by some event planner who met more times with the Mayor than with us. I don’t want this expensive hotel with its extravagant ballrooms. I don’t want roses in my stupid bouquet when I don’t even _like_ roses.”

Without saying anything, Holtz unpinned her boutonniere and tossed it on the bed behind her.

“I don’t want to walk down the aisle to a twelve-piece orchestra,” Erin continued. “I don’t want to have our first dance in front of five hundred people who I don’t even _know_.”

“The good news is that it’s not our first dance.”

“It’s the first one that matters,” Erin said.

Holtzmann turned her head to kiss her neck. “You know that’s not true.”

Erin sniffled.

Holtz lifted her head to examine the wetness on Erin’s cheeks. She carefully raised her hand and thumbed away the tears, then gently kissed the skin there.

“Five hundred people,” Erin repeated, head bent, “and none of them my parents.”

Holtzmann pressed her face into the crook of Erin’s neck again, this time leaving it there. She tightened her grip around her waist, her other hand coming to take Erin’s once more and squeeze it. She didn’t say anything.

-

_“Sooo, we’ve been dating almost a year,” Holtzmann said, sitting on the kitchen counter in Erin’s apartment with her feet swinging. “This is my first serious relationship and I’m the first to admit I haven’t the foggiest about what the norm is, but when do I get to meet your parents?”_

_Erin froze, her back to Holtz. “Never,” she said shakily._

_“Wuh wah. I didn’t think I was_ that _bad,” Holtz said. “I mean, I’m housebroken and everything.”_

_Erin spun around. She wasn’t laughing. “Holtz…”_

_Holtzmann scrunched her nose up and waited for her to elaborate._

_“They’re not…they would never…” Erin’s eyes filled up with tears. “They already don’t love me as is. I can’t make it worse. I’m sorry.”_

_Holtz frowned and hopped down off the counter. She closed the distance between them and grabbed Erin’s hands._

_“You’re apologizing to_ me? _”_

_She stared down at their clasped hands. Her knuckles were turning white around the edges from squeezing so hard._

_She vowed right then and there that she’d never let go._

_-_

_“Are you a hundred percent sure about this?”_

_“I don’t think I’ll ever be a hundred percent sure,” Erin replied. “I’m at an 80 and I think that’s as solid as I’m ever going to get.”_

_“You don’t have to do this.”_

_“Yes I do. I have to. I have to know.”_

_Holtz squeezed her upper arm and leaned her chin on her shoulder. “Okay. I love you and I’m here for you. Whatever happens.”_

_“Thanks, Holtz,” Erin said. Then she hit send on the email containing their input for the guest list so the Mayor’s office could start sending out save-the-dates._

_At the bottom of the list sat two Gilberts with matching Battle Creek addresses beside them._

_They both stared at the sent email for a few minutes, then Erin slammed the laptop shut._

_“It’s done,” she said. “Whatever happens, I can say I did it. I tried.”_

_“I love you and I’m proud of you and I love you.”_

_“I love you, too,” Erin murmured absentmindedly._

_“You deserve to be loved without strings attached,” Holtzmann said. “And just so you know, there is nothing on this earth or beyond that could ever make me stop loving you.”_

-

“Do you trust me?” Holtzmann asked Erin’s neck.

A pause. “Selectively.”

“Solid, solid basis for a marriage,” Holtz said.

“Do I trust you to never cheat on me? Yes. Do I trust you to always take care of me? Yes. Do I trust you to never hurt me? Yes. But do I trust you to not flatten the city one today?” A beat. “Absolutely not.”

“That kind of negates the no-hurting-you one,” Holtz pointed out.

“You know what I mean.”

“Do you trust me right now? If I say I can fix everything, will you follow my lead, no questions asked?”

Erin hesitated. “Not blindly. Too much of this day has already been taken out of my hands. I can’t have one more thing outside of my control, or I’m going to lose it.”

“Fair enough, fair enough, I just thought we could save some precious time and get out of here even faster if I don’t have to explain my plan.” Holtz lifted their clasped hands to boop Erin on the nose with her loose thumb. “But not if it’ll stress you out more.”

“Wait, _get out of here?_ ”

Holtzmann released Erin and slid off the bed, tucking and rolling and finishing on one knee in front of her. She grabbed Erin’s left hand in both of hers and ran the pad of her thumb over her engagement ring.

“Erin, love of my life, will you skip town with me?”

“Skip town to _where?_ ”

Holtz bent her head to kiss Erin’s knuckles. “Let me take you to Paris.”

Erin laughed lightly. “We’re already going to Paris.”

Holtzmann raised an eyebrow. “Tomorrow morning. What if we went now instead?”

“Now? But…we don’t even know if there’s an earlier flight.”

“So let’s show up at the airport and find out.”

“Holtz, we—we’re supposed to get married in less than an hour.”

Holtz nodded.

Erin bit her lip. Holtzmann watched the gears turn in her head for several long seconds as she processed the pros and cons.

“Okay,” she said finally. “Let’s do it. Let’s go. What do you need me to do?”

-

Holtzmann threw the door open. “Party’s over, ladies!”

Abby and Patty were off to the side, still arguing. They both jumped and immediately started chastising her in overlapping shouts.

Erin had already closed the door behind her. Holtz grinned.

“Patty, care to accompany me back to my room?”

“Oh, you’re not going _anywhere_ out of my sight until you’re standing at that damn alter,” Patty replied grumpily. “Let’s go.”

“You better not lose her again,” Abby warned.

“You deal with _your_ bride, I’ll deal with mine,” Patty snapped at her. She grabbed Holtz by the arm and tugged her down the hall away from the door, which Abby had begun knocking on again.

“Have I said yet how stunning you are, Patty?” Holtzmann said sweetly.

“I know I am,” Patty said. “Don’t try to be cute with me—I can’t believe you broke into Erin’s room. Now y’all are gonna have seven years of bad luck.”

“She’s not a mirror,” Holtzmann replied with mirth. “Besides, I didn’t _break in_. She called me.”

They reached the elevator and Patty slammed the down button. “Now we only have 45 minutes to go, and we’re going to need to touch up our hair and makeup because _someone_ decided to run a damn marathon through the hotel.”

“We’ve got plenty of time,” Holtz assured her.

-

_“Okay, you’ve got fifteen minutes to pack your suitcase, and then you’re going to leave it just inside the door. I’ll pay off a bellboy to come and get it. Then you’re going to make your way downstairs with Abby.”_

_“Why can’t I take my own suitcase down?”_

_“You kidding? Bride dragging a suitcase behind her? Do you_ want _to be noticed? Besides, Abby isn’t going to leave your side.”_

_“How am I supposed to ditch her then?”_

_“Make something up. Tell her you need some fresh air alone. If you can’t get away from her, text me an SOS.”_

_“Thank gosh I insisted on a wedding dress with pockets.”_

-

“Come stand in the door where I can see you,” Patty said.

“Come on, that’s really not necessary.”

“You wanna talk necessary? Come on. Now. I need to touch up my face.”

“Where am I gonna go? I already went and saw my intended.”

Patty stared at her long and hard. “Fine,” she said finally. “But if you slip out the door while I’m curling my eyelashes, you won’t live long enough to marry Erin—you got that?”

Holtzmann saluted her. “Roger.”

Patty disappeared into the bathroom, but left the door open. Holtz immediately sprang into action, grabbing every possession lying around the room and shoving it into her suitcase as quietly as possible. Her toiletries were trapped in the bathroom with Patty, but that was fine. They were easy to replace.

She had completely packed by the time Patty poked her head out a minute later to check that she was still there. Holtz was sitting on the edge of the bed, twiddling her thumbs. Patty eyed her suspiciously, then ducked back into the bathroom.

Holtz reached for the pad of paper and pen lying by the telephone and started scrawling, then quietly tore the top piece of paper off and folded it into a small square, tucking it into her pocket along with her phone.

Patty emerged again. “Okay, I’m done. Come here, let me check if I need to fix your hair.”

Holtzmann dutifully stood up and let Patty check over her hair.

“Not a strand out of place,” she said with a shake of her head. “How’d you do a whole ass somersault and not completely ruin it? Or tear your cape?”

Holtzmann gave said cape a dramatic swish. “A gymnast never reveals her secrets. You ready to go?”

“Yeah. Let’s go get you married.”

-

_“I’ll pack my bag and head downstairs with Patty, then I’ll get a few things together before ditching her. The Ecto is parked around back, ready for them to drive us to the airport tomorrow morning. Meet me there. I’ll have the car running, and our bags will be in it.”_

_“Is it a wise idea to leave the Ecto in long-term parking at the airport?”_

_“Absolutely not. Once we’re safely on a plane and can’t be stopped, we’ll tip them off so they can come recover it.”_

_“How will you get away from Patty?”_

_“Oh, don’t worry about that.”_

-

The hall was rapidly filling with people. There were also camera crews being set up at the back. Apparently, this thing was going to be televised. This was news to Holtzmann. Good thing she wasn’t sticking around to make an appearance.

Patty was talking to the officiant. Holtzmann took the opportunity to duck behind the small table off to the side of the altar, where their marriage license was resting with an extravagant feathered ink pen. Holtz nimbly plucked the paper off the table and tucked it into her blazer, then popped up at the exact moment that Patty turned around, looking for her.

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing over there?”

“Pacing,” Holtzman replied. “I’m nervous.”

“Can you pace in my line of vision, please?”

“What are you so worried about? Of the two of us, I’m not the runner.”

“You literally ran away earlier.”

“Not _away_. I ran _to_ Erin.”

“Same thing.”

Holtz shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels. “Not really. It means you don’t have to worry about me running away and abandoning her at the altar. _Her_ on the other hand…”

“Erin’s not going anywhere.”

“I don’t know.” Holtz gazed off into the distance forlornly. “She seemed kind of squirrelly when I was there with her.”

“She’s probably just nervous.”

Holtz sighed to really sell it. “I guess. You know Erin, though. Nervous is just a hop skip and a jump to scared for her, and when she’s scared, she does dumb, self-destructive things.” She met Patty’s eyes. “It’s probably fine, though.”

“Yeah. It’s fine. She’s not going anywhere.”

“I wonder if that’s what Abby thought? You know, the day they were supposed to go on air to talk about their book, but then Erin abandoned her?”

“It’ll be okay,” Patty said, sounding less and less convinced every time she said it.

“She also kept apologizing when I was up there,” Holtz said. “It kind of scared me a little.”

Patty glanced at the officiant and steered them away from her, lowering her voice. “You’re not actually worried, are you?”

“I mean, _kind of_ ,” Holtzmann admitted. “I know it’s probably irrational, but like I said, _she’s_ the runner.” She looked over her shoulder, then leaned in. “It’s probably just pre-wedding jitters. But I can’t stop thinking about how it would feel to be standing up here and have her not show up.” She inhaled. “Patty, do you think…could you maybe go up to her room and make sure she’s still there?”

Patty reached into her pocket. “I’ll text Abby and ask.”

Holtz grimaced. “Do you really trust Abby after earlier? I mean, she let Erin lock her out of the hotel room.”

“Still, she’s guarding the door. It’s not like Erin can go anywhere without Abby knowing.”

“There’s a fire escape,” Holtzmann said grimly. “I checked when I was in there.”

Patty swore quietly.

“Please?” Holtz asked quietly, anxiously. “I’ll stay right here. I swear. I just need to know that she’s still there.”

Patty looked for a moment like she regretted everything, but then her eyes hardened and she nodded firmly. “I got you, baby. Don’t worry. Patty’s on it.”

Holtzmann squeezed her arm. “Thanks, Patty. You’re the best Best Person a girl could ask for.”

“I know.”

Patty jogged down the aisle and out of the room. Holtz counted five seconds, and then took off at a swift walk.

-

As she burst out of the back doors and into the crisp spring air, the first thing she saw was her new favorite bellboy standing by the Ecto with a suitcase on either side of him. She lit up.

“You, my man, are an absolute legend,” she said.

“Are these the right suitcases?” he asked.

“Those are the ones,” she said. She dug the keys to the Ecto out of her pocket and unlocked the back.

He peered uneasily into the back of the hearse.

“Just throw ’em on in there,” she instructed him. “Don’t worry, there aren’t any bodies today.”

He lifted the suitcases into the back and then held up the folded piece of paper with her handwriting on it. “Do you need this back?”

-

_“Hold up, Patty, the AC in my room is wonky. I’m just gonna tell this guy about it real quick,” Holtzmann said as they passed a young uniformed man on their way downstairs._

_“Make it quick, we need to go touch base with the officiant,” Patty said._

_“Hello, good sir,” Holtz said. “Room 713 needs maintenance. Could you please let someone know?”_

_“Yes, of course,” he replied politely._

_“Brilliant, thank you.” She reached out to shake his hand, and as she did so she pressed the folded up piece of hotel stationary into his palm along with a few bills. She winked at him and kept pumping his arm for a few seconds longer than necessary._

_He frowned, but she was already bounding down the hallway to join Patty again. She glanced over her shoulder in time to watch him unfold the note._

**Please collect suitcases from room 713 and room 1017 and bring them to the car out back with a ghost painted on it. It’s critical this is done in the next ten minutes, but if there is still someone standing outside room 1017, wait until they’ve left. More $$ upon completion.**

-

“No, you can throw that out,” Holtzmann replied. “Did anyone see you or ask what you were doing?”

“No, nobody. These are, uh…your suitcases, right?”

“Mine and my soon-to-be-wife’s, yeah,” Holtz replied. “Thank you for your service, sir. For you.” She handed him a much larger wad of bills.

His eyes widened as he took it. “Oh. Yeah. My pleasure.”

“And if anyone happens to ask you if you’ve seen the brides, keep your mouth shut, got it?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Good kid.”

He bowed his head and then skittered off. Holtz shut the back of the hearse and then got into the driver’s seat, pulling out her phone as she did so. They were running right on schedule.

Somewhat predictably, her phone vibrated in her hand at that exact moment.

**Wa-wa-wa-wifey:** _SOS_

Holtz smiled and navigated to burner phone number app she used to prank call people. She dialed in a number and then sat back as it rang.

“Hello?”

“Hello there, is this Abby Yates?” Holtz said in her cleanest British accent. “I don’t know who else to call, but the officiant is vomiting right now, and I can’t find the wedding planner anywhere.”

“Crap on a spatula, really?”

“Oh, and one of the cameras seems to have shorted the power to the hall. They’re trying to get it back on, but they said it could be another forty minutes until it’s back.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Someone gave me your name and number and said you were the best person to call. Nobody else seems to know what to do.”

“You said the wedding planner is MIA?”

“Yes, nobody’s seen him for at least an hour.”

“God—okay. Uh…”

Muffled in the background, Holtz could hear Erin ask what was going on.

“Nothing!” Abby said quickly. “I just have to…go deal with something real quick. It’s minor. Don’t worry about it. Will you be okay here? You’re not going to leave, right? I can’t deal with that too. One crisis at a time.”

“I’ll be fine, Abby, don’t worry about me! Just go deal with whatever you need to deal with.”

“Oh, bloody hell,” Holtzmann said, “the officiant just vomited again all over the aisle. Please hurry.”

“I’ll be right there—”

Holtz hung up and leaned back with a smirk.

-

The passenger door opened and Erin clambered inside.

“Took you long enough,” Holtzmann said with a wink.

“That was crazy. I didn’t think Abby was going to let me out of her sight. She wouldn’t let me ‘go out for air’ by myself. She insisted on coming with me. Whatever you said to her on the phone worked wonders.”

“Our officiant is sick, our wedding planner is missing, and the power is out in the hall,” Holtz said.

Erin visibly cringed. “That’ll do it.”

“What can I say? I know how to tank a wedding,” Holtz replied with an easy grin, drumming her index fingers on the steering wheel.

Erin looked behind her. “Did our suitcases make it?”

“Without a hitch,” Holtzmann said.

“Oh. I was just wondering why we weren’t tearing out of here. I can’t imagine it’ll be long before they both realize we’re gone and come looking for us.”

“We’ve got about a minute and a half,” Holtz confirmed.

“So why aren’t we leaving? Couldn’t they burst through those doors at any second?”

“Minute and a half,” Holtz repeated. “I just thought I’d check and make sure you’re still 100% sure about this. There’s still time to go back inside before anyone notices we ever left. And we can get married as planned.”

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“Oh, hell no,” Holtz said with a grin. “I’m all in. But are _you_ sure this is what you want?”

This time, Erin responded right away without thinking about it. “I haven’t been this sure about anything since the day I asked you to marry me.”

“That,” Holtz said, twisting the key in the ignition, “was all I needed to hear.”

She threw the car into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot fast enough that the tires squealed, and Erin just laughed and turned the radio up.

-

_Holtzmann was singing along to the radio around the wires she was holding in between her teeth when her phone lit up and began vibrating across the table. She scooped it up and swiped her thumb over the unflattering photo of Erin that was taking up the screen. Over the course of their relationship, she’d made it her mission to take horrendous photos of Erin and set them as her contact photo, which Erin would promptly delete as soon as she saw them. Then Holtz would one-up herself with an even worse photo, and the cycle would repeat. It was her favorite tradition._

_She propped the phone in between her ear and shoulder and continued working. “Hey.”_

_“Hey, can you come pick me up from my meeting? I think I left my wallet in the cab on the way over here and now I don’t have a way of getting back.”_

_Holtz pulled one of the wires out of her mouth and carefully reconnected it. “Sure. You done now, or are you still in your meeting?”_

_“I’m done now, but if you’re in the middle of something…”_

_“No, I’ll leave now. Text me the address?”_

_“I will. Thanks, Holtz…sorry about this.”_

_“It’s not like you to lose your wallet,” Holtz teased, taking the rest of the wires out of her mouth and setting them down. She tugged off her gloves. “That’s a me move.”_

_“I know. I can’t believe it.”_

_“Good thing you’ve got an amazing girlfriend who’ll always bail you out, no questions asked. See ya soon. Love you.”_

_“Love you. See you in a bit.”_

_-_

_Holtzmann pulled up to the curb—enjoying her special Mayor-appointed perk of being able to park anywhere in the city without being towed, so long as she didn’t block a fire hydrant—and leaned across the seat to look at her destination. She cut the engine with a smile._

_The Kenneth P. Higgins Institute looked the same as she remembered it, with the exception of the gigantic banner hanging from the front._ HOME OF THE GHOSTBUSTERS _, it said in garish print, adorned on either side with very grainy pictures of her and Abby that she recognized as being blown up versions of their staff photos._

_She texted Erin to let her know that she was there, then got out of the car so she could get a better look at the building. She shielded the sun from her eyes as she walked closer to the banner. There was a smaller tagline underneath the main writing that said:_ REALLY, THEY USED TO WORK HERE.

_An excited squeak beside her alerted her to the presence of a couple students who were excitedly watching her. She ended up signing the covers of their textbooks for them, which struck her as kind of hilarious, and dutifully took a selfie with them as well._

_She checked her phone to see that Erin had responded back with a room number. While she had been too out of it to recognize the address before she got here, she knew the room number on sight. She smiled._

_-_

_The metal doors of the lab she used to call home were covered in graffiti. While this had always been a problem, nothing could have prepared her for the dozens of overlapping messages of love and support for them. There were ghost doodles, hearts, thank-yous, you-rocks, I-love-yous, and she even caught one ‘MARRY ME HOLTZMANN’ in the mix. In addition to the spray painted, Sharpied, and etched messages, there were also photos, letters, and signs taped to the doors and the entire stretch of wall. Perhaps weirdest of all, her and Abby’s nameplates were still there._

_The door was ajar, so she rapped on it and tentatively pushed it open to step inside._

_The deja-vu was so severe that she actually stumbled a step backwards. Her head swung from side to side as she tried to take it all in._

_It was, in a word, untouched. Exactly the same as it looked back when they worked here. Every machine was exactly as it was. The posters on the wall. Even the clutter heaped on the tables._

_Then she noticed the thick velvet rope strung just inside the door, and the large sign that appeared to be telling the story of how her and Abby had started here, and the small table with a donation bin, and the empty chair just beside it that, if she had to guess, was where someone usually sat and took people’s money._

_“Hello?” she called. “Erin?”_

_She wasn’t actually sure if she was here or if the room number was just Erin telling her that she should check out this wild sight. There was no response, and the room was still and empty, so she assumed the latter._

_She skimmed the story on the sign, noting at least three inaccuracies at first glance, then swung her leg over the velvet rope to go exploring. She had to know if they’d_ actually _preserved every inch of their lab for the purposes of this weird little museum smack in the middle of a functioning college._

_She walked slowly into the room, trying to take in everything. She could see Abby in the corner, laughing about something she said. She could see the two of them at the EVP recorder, playing back hours of tapes while they exchanged their favorite conspiracy theories. She could see herself holed up with her goggles down for entire days at a time. She could see Erin marching into the lab and throwing down her briefcase, giving Holtzmann an opening to—_

_“Come here often?”_ _There was a recognizable pfft noise._

_She whirled around to see Erin sitting behind her, her feet up on the work bench in front of her, a lit blowtorch in her hand._

_A slow grin spread on Holtz’s face. She cocked her head. “Hello.”_

_Erin turned off the blowtorch and dropped her feet to the ground, then stood up and walked towards her. She pressed a kiss to Holtz’s cheek and then another to her lips, then handed off the blowtorch to her._

_“I thought you burned that suit,” Holtzmann said, rolling the blowtorch in her hands._

_“I did,” Erin replied, looking down at her tweed-clad body. “This is a replica.”_

_Holtz glanced around. “You do all this, too?”_

_“No, I thought I was going to have to pay off some grad students or something to borrow the space. I was not anticipating that they would have left a full-on shrine to you guys here. Talk about luck.”_

_Holtzmann lifted the blow torch in her direction. “Can I just say you nailed that, by the way?”_

_“I don’t know how you did it without lighting your hair on fire. I had to practice like, fifty times.”_

_“So did I,” Holtz said with a wink._

_Erin gazed at her with a smile. “I had a whole speech planned, but I…I can’t remember it. So screw it. Will you marry me?”_

_There was a buzzing in Holtzmann’s ears. Her eyes glassed over as she forgot how to blink, or to breathe, or to talk._

_Then a yelp broke her of her frozen state. “Holtz! Your sleeve!”_

_Holtz glanced down to see flames licking up her arm from the now-lit blowtorch. “Aw man, I liked this shirt.”_

_Erin wildly spun in place. “Where are the fire extinguishers? Why are there no fire extinguishers?! This place can’t possibly be accurate if there aren’t fire extinguishers!”_

_“Actually,” Holtz said as she calmly set the blowtorch down on the table beside her and patted out the flames with her glove, “we were always out of them and too broke to get new ones.”_

_“Well, nothing’s changed,” Erin said._

_“Sorry about that.” Holtz gazed up at her. “You want to try that again, sans fire?”_

_Erin bit back a smile. “Some of my speech is coming back to me now, but it feels a little redundant.”_

_“Gimme the cliffnotes.”_

_“Okay. Holtz…the five years that have elapsed since you introduced yourself to me right here have been the most incredible years of my life. I’m unwilling to imagine living out the rest of my life without you at my side. Will you—wait, how clean do you think this floor is?”_

_Holtzmann looked down. “If they’re going for historical accuracy, I’ll say not very.”_

_Erin appraised the floor. “I’ll take my chances. I’m going to need to burn this suit anyway.”_

_“Do you have to? I forgot how cute you looked in it.”_

_Erin gave her a look, but carefully lowered herself onto one knee. She groaned. “Oh, I’m too old for this. Going to have to make this quick. Holtz, will you marry me? Wait—I almost forgot, there’s a ring taped to the bottom of the blowtorch.”_

_Holtzmann lit up. “Really?” She grabbed it and flipped it over. “Now that is_ delightful _.”_

_“I think I’m stuck down here.”_

_Holtz extended a hand and helped heave Erin to her feet. She set the blowtorch back down with the ring still taped to the bottom of it so she could throw her arms over Erin’s shoulders instead. She stretched on her toes to bring her mouth right by her ear._

_“I will abso-fuckin-lutely marry you,” she whispered, then she stuck out her tongue to poke Erin’s ear._

_Erin squealed and squirmed away. “Hey!”_

_“No takesies backsies!”_

_“Never,” Erin said. “Now come on, I believe we need to see a man about a donation bin that we aren’t getting a cut off. We can use every cent we can get now that we’re saving for a wedding.”_

_“You’re thinking too small. I, for one, would like to sue for use of my image on the front of this school.”_

_“We’ll talk.”_

_“You didn’t actually leave your wallet in a cab, did you?” Holtz asked as they climbed over the rope. She had the blowtorch tucked under her arm._

_Erin scoffed. “Does that sound like me?”_

_“Not even a little bit. I should’ve seen right through you.”_

_“There was no meeting either, in case that wasn’t obvious.”_

_Holtz feigned a gasp and clutched her chest. Erin knocked shoulders with her and smiled as they walked away from the lab._

_-_

“Hi there,” Erin said as they approached the airline counter. “My name is Dr. Erin Gilbert. My wife and I have tickets to Paris for tomorrow morning and we’re hoping there might be an earlier flight this evening.”

The woman behind the counter smiled pleasantly at them. “Sure thing. Let me just pull up your tickets, Dr. and Mrs. Gilbert.”

Holtzmann glanced at Erin. “You wanna flip a coin to see who gets to be the doctor?”

Erin rolled her eyes. “She obviously meant me.” She cleared her throat. “Actually, it’s Dr. Gilbert and Dr. Holtzmann.”

“My apologies, yes, I’ve found you here. Erin Gilbert and Leanne Holtzmann. Now—”

“It’s Jillian,” Erin corrected. “Jillian Holtzmann.”

The woman clicked her tongue and frowned at the screen. “I have Leanne Holtzmann. Booked under the same reservation as Erin Gilbert.”

“That’s an error,” Erin said.

“No, that’s me,” Holtz said cheerfully.

Erin shot her a look.

“It was going to be a fun surprise for the ceremony,” Holtzmann told her.

“What are you saying? You changed your name?!”

“No? That _is_ my name.”

“Your name is _Jillian_.”

“Leanne Jillian Holtzmann.”

“Since _when?_ ”

“Uh, birth? How long have you had _your_ name for?”

“Wait, wait, _what?_ ” Erin took a step away from her. “You’re serious? Your name is _Leanne?_ ”

“In theory.”

“You’re telling me you go by your middle name? Except not actually, you go by your last name?”

“I didn’t pick ‘Jillian’ either. My parents have been calling me that since I was born.”

“Why didn’t they name you Jillian then?!”

Holtzmann shrugged. “Politics.”

“Holtz, you—you’re not going to be able to get on the plane! Your ID needs to match your boarding pass.”

“It does.”

“Your passport says Leanne Holtzmann?”

“Yes. That’s my name.”

“Does your driver’s license?”

“Yes. Because it’s my name. You’re not really getting this, are you?”

Erin stared at her for several seconds. “I hope one day, when we’re old and gray and sitting in a nursing home somewhere, you’re still surprising me.”

Holtz flashed her a wide grin. “You think I won’t be?”

“Let me rephrase. I hope you’re still surprising me in a way that doesn’t cause my heart to go early.” Erin paused. “I’ve already decided we’re both dying of old age. And of course, whoever goes first gets to haunt the other.”

“Ooh, can’t wait.”

There was a cough.

They both turned back to the counter.

“Sorry,” Erin said. “I’m sure you think we’re crazy.”

“Not at all,” the woman replied smoothly. “It’s just that I found a flight tonight for you. There are more stopovers…”

“That’s totally okay,” Erin said.

“But unfortunately, all our first class seats are full on that flight.”

They exchanged a look.

“You okay with that?” Erin asked.

“Absolutely,” Holtzmann replied. “We can slum it.”

Erin elbowed her. “She means we’ll take whatever’s available. Thank you.”

-

“Shoot,” Erin said as they went to check their suitcases. “I guess we’re not changing.”

“Why would we change?”

“Well, I don’t really want to wear my wedding dress on a plane.”

“Really? When are you ever going to get the chance to wear a wedding dress on a plane again? Once in a lifetime opportunity right here.”

“I didn’t bring a garment bag, so the alternative would be what, hopping into the restroom to change and then cramming it into my suitcase? It’s going to be dirty and crumpled either way.”

“I assume France has dry cleaners.”

Erin rolled her shoulders back. “You’re right. It’ll be fine. It’s not _that_ long of a flight. Right?”

“Sure,” Holtz said cheerfully, and they checked their bags.

-

The TSA agent who scanned their boarding passes gave them a long once-over.

“Going to or coming from?” he asked.

They exchanged a glance.

“Technically neither,” Erin mused.

“Let’s say going to,” Holtzmann said.

“Best of luck,” he replied and handed them back their boarding passes.

-

Their new connecting flight was through Atlanta, and was scheduled to leave at 7:30pm.

“Our layover is nearly five hours,” Erin said with a groan as she read their second set of boarding passes. They were sitting side by side at their gate. “And then it’s an eight-hour flight from Atlanta.” She lowered the boarding passes and tilted her head at Holtzmann. “We should’ve just stuck with our original flight tomorrow morning. It was a direct flight and only seven hours.”

“What would be the fun in that?” Holtz walked her fingers up Erin’s arm.

“For starters, not being sleep deprived upon our arrival after a grueling overnight flight and 15 hours of travel…”

“Please, that’s not going to matter. We’ll be loopy, sure, but that’s even more fun. We’ll go find a little café, get some breakfast…”

“It’ll be—” Erin checked the boarding passes again— “4:30pm there.”

“I can still eat a croissant at 4:30,” Holtz replied. “We’ll get a nice bottle of champagne…”

“It’s going to feel like 10:30am to us.”

“Yes, and?”

“Nothing, continue.”

Holtzmann wriggled into Erin’s side. “We’ll go wander the city with our bottle of champagne and see if we can land a public intoxication arrest on our first night.”

“Don’t know that I like this plan.”

“And then we’ll climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, which will feel like a billion steps because we’ll be drunk and sleep deprived, and we’ll probably stop to make out a bunch of times…”

“Go on…”

“But it’ll be worth it when we get to the top and see the view and also make out some more.”

“Really solid plan.”

“And then we’ll go back to our hotel and sleep it off and the next day we’ll get married.”

“Oh. Holtz…we won’t be able to get married there. I thought you knew that?”

“Oh yeah!” Holtz sat up and reached into her blazer to pull out the marriage license she’d swiped. “Et voila!”

Erin took it. “ _How_ did you get this to read ‘Leanne Holtzmann’ without me noticing?” she muttered. Then she looked up. “This is useless in France. You know that, right? You have to be a French citizen to get legally married in France.”

Holtz’s face fell. “Oh. I thought we were eloping.”

“I’m sorry…the best we could do is have a symbolic ceremony there.”

She perked up again. “Then let’s do a symbolic ceremony there! And then we can swing by the courthouse the second we get back to New York. On the way home from the airport, even.”

Erin tapped the paper. “The date will be wrong. It’s okay, Holtz. We’ll do it as soon as we can.”

Holtzmann pouted. “I wish I’d known all this before I suggested this plan. We would be married by now if we’d stayed.”

Erin pulled her phone out of her purse to check the time. “I wonder what everyone is thinking.” She grimaced. “I have 17 missed calls and 12 voicemails.”

Holtz took out her phone as well. “I’ve only got two, and two voicemails. I _knew_ I picked the better Best Person.”

“Should we call them back?” Erin asked anxiously. “They must be worried about us.”

“Nah, they would’ve worked out that we’re together. We’ll text them the second they close the plane doors.” Holtz lifted her phone to her ear to listen to her voicemails. The first was Patty wondering why she wasn’t in the spot she left her in, and where she was. The second was Patty describing in succinct terms why Holtz was going to regret ever being born. She smiled as she listened to them.

“Yeah, they’ll be fine,” she said.

-

Holtzmann was twisted in her seat with her legs thrown over Erin’s lap, playing Candy Crush on her phone. Level 7642. Above her, Erin was randomly mumbling phrases under her breath as she tapped away on her own phone, which meant she was doing a crossword.

“Excuse me,” came a timid voice.

They both lifted their heads to see a woman and a young boy, maybe eight or nine years old, sitting across from them.

“Sorry to bother you, but my son and I are big fans,” she woman continued shyly.

Holtz swung her legs down. “Hey! No bother.” She grinned at the kid. “Hey there, what’s your name?”

“Harvey,” he said, gazing at her with star-struck eyes.

“Would you two like a photo?” Erin asked.

“You don’t mind?”

“Get over here,” Holtz replied, waving them over and standing. They took a few selfies all together, and then the woman took a couple photos of the boy with them.

“Are you going to Atlanta too?” the boy asked eagerly. “That’s where I live!”

“Sorry, we’re only stopping there for a little bit,” Erin apologized. “We’d love to visit there one day, though.”

“You can stay at our house!” the boy said.

“That’s super nice of you,” Holtzmann said, giving him a high five.

They signed the backs of their boarding passes, and the woman thanked them.

“Is there any way you could maybe not…post that photo anywhere until at least tomorrow?” Erin asked. “We don’t really want…anyone to know we’re here.”

“Of course,” the woman said, though she sounded surprised. “Congratulations, by the way! I saw the announcement in the papers. I forgot it was today.”

“Oh. Thank you.” Holtzmann slung an arm around Erin’s shoulders. “It’s official now.”

The woman thanked them again, and then led the boy away.

“Good call on the social media front,” Holtzmann said.

“Can you imagine if our cover was blown by _Twitter_ , of all things?”

“I still wouldn’t discount it. I mean, our very-recognizable car is parked out there.”

“At least it’s a big airport,” Erin said. “Even if they found out we were here, they’d have a hard time finding us.”

“And we’ll be out of here in a few hours,” Holtz said, then something caught her eye. “Uh oh.”

“What’s uh oh?”

Holtzmann pointed at the large flight board ten feet away from them.

“Oh no,” Erin said as she saw exactly what Holtz was looking at. “Does that say delayed by _two hours?_ ”

“Appears to be. There are…a lot of delayed flights suddenly.”

“Hello folks,” came the voice over the PA system for the gate. They both turned to see the gate agent speaking. “As you may have noticed, we’ve had a schedule change for flight 418 to Atlanta due to inclement weather. We’ll keep you updated as more information comes in. Thank you.”

“Inclement weather?” they both repeated at the same time, their heads turning to the window.

“Where did all that fog come from?” Holtzmann asked.

“Is that _snow_ starting to come down?” Erin planted her hands on her hips. “Wasn’t the whole point of getting married in April to avoid the potential of snow?”

“I _did_ suggest June,” Holtz reminded her. “Just saying.”

Erin flopped back down into her seat. “Now what do we do?”

“Now…we wait.”

-

Several hours had elapsed, and there was damn near a full blizzard outside. There was a TV in the eatery across from them that was playing the news, and they were calling it the freak snowstorm of the century.

Their flight had already been pushed back another hour on top of the two it had originally been given. Holtzmann was pacing back and forth in front of Erin, who was getting more and more sullen by the minute.

“Is this the universe punishing us for running out on our own wedding?” Erin asked.

“Nah, it’s the universe giving us a good story to tell one day when people ask us about our wedding day.” Holtz plunked herself into the seat next to her and nudged her knee. “Just say the word, and we can bail.”

“We can’t bail,” Erin said. “We’re going to Paris no matter what.”

“I’ll get you to Paris if it’s the last thing I do,” Holtz promised, kissing the side of her head.

-

“Hi folks, I have some unfortunate news to report. Flight 418 to Atlanta has been cancelled.”

A groan rippled across the gate. The agent continued to speak, giving them instructions on where to go to rebook their flights, but nobody was listening. Erin dropped her head into her hands.

Holtz rubbed her back. “It’s okay.”

“No it’s not. It’s really not.”

“It’ll be fine. We’ll switch back to our original flight tomorrow morning, and we’ll go hole up at a hotel nearby for the night. We’ll splurge on the nicest room they have and we’ll order _all_ the room service. It’ll be great.”

“Not as nice as Paris,” Erin said.

-

The desk to rebook their flights was an absolute zoo. There were at least a hundred people in line.

“Should we just go wait for a bit until things die down here?” Holtz asked.

Erin sighed and started walking back the way they came without responding.

-

Holtzmann left Erin at their now-empty gate and disappeared on a mission, lying and saying she was going to the restroom. Instead, she ducked into the nearest shop and started gathering supplies into her arms.

-

Erin didn’t notice her approaching until she had dumped everything onto the seat beside her. She startled and looked up.

“What’s all that?”

“Paris,” Holtz replied. She started picking through the items she’d purchased, handing them off to Erin one at a time. “Here’s an Eiffel Tower fridge magnet, which was the only one I could find amongst a sea of Statue of Liberty’s. Don’t really know why it was here, but it works. Here’s a piece of art that has six different cities on it, but ignore all the ones that aren’t Paris.”

Erin clutched the magnet to her chest. “Holtz…”

“I’ve got croissants for both of us. They’re from Starbucks and they seem a little soggy to me, but we can pretend. And here’s a box of macarons, because those are French, right? And I got a bottle of champagne from Duty Free.”

Erin gazed at her, tears in her eyes.

“Sorry it’s not the real thing,” Holtz said meekly, “but we _are_ going to get there eventually. I promise.”

“I love you so much,” Erin said, the tears spilling over. Holtzmann thumbed them away.

“I love you, too.” Holtz leaned in to kiss her tenderly.

When Erin pulled back, her lip wobbled. “I hate that we’re not married right now. I hate that what was supposed to be the best day of our lives has turned into this.”

“This is still one of the best days of my life,” Holtz replied, hand cupping Erin’s cheek. “Do you regret not staying for the wedding?”

“It wasn’t what I wanted my wedding to be, but would it have mattered? We would be married right now. That’s all I _really_ wanted from my wedding day. To be married to you at the end of it. The rest is just background noise.”

“Out of curiosity, what would your dream day had looked like? If we could’ve planned it ourselves?”

“I don’t know. Something simple and small. No more than 50 people, not 500. I always thought an outdoor wedding would be nice. Maybe not in weather like this—” Erin glared over her shoulder— “but on a nicer day. I thought maybe in a park or something. I thought that would be really pretty. That’s all I wanted. Something simple.”

Holtz watched her for a moment. “Done.”

Erin’s brow knitted together. “What?”

“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do. You deserve the wedding _you_ want,” Holtzmann said. “Whether it’s in Paris or back here in the city when we get back. We’re going to do it right.”

“Didn’t you hear me?” Erin touched her face gently. “I don’t care about that now. I just want to be married to you.”

Something crossed her face, and she pulled away, taking her phone out.

Holtz cocked her head. “Whatcha doing?”

Erin ignored her and typed for a few seconds, then lifted her phone to her ear.

“Hey, Abby,” she said after a second.

Holtzmann’s eyebrows shot up.

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Erin said into the phone, face smooth. “You can ream us out another day. Right now I need you to do something for me. Something really important.”

There was a pause, and she met Holtz’s eyes.

“I need you to use my credit card to book three tickets on flight 689 to Seattle out of JFK. Don’t pack anything. Just get yourself to the airport as soon as you can.”

Another pause, and Erin smiled.

“Patty, and our officiant,” she answered to the question she’d been asked. “See you soon.”

Then she hung up.

-

It was over an hour later when they caught sight of the three of them walking through the airport, scanning overhead for their gate numbers. They didn’t seem to notice them yet.

“Here it is,” Patty announced as they approached the gate next to Erin and Holtz’s.

“Finally,” Holtzmann piped up, “you nearly missed your flight.”

The expressions that crossed their faces when they saw them sitting there were a rollercoaster.

“I am going to _kill_ the two of you,” Abby said, “for many reasons, _including_ the fact that you dragged us out in this snow.”

“Abby got patted down at security,” Patty explained. “She wasn’t impressed.”

“I’m sure as hell hoping that you don’t expect us to get on a plane,” Abby said.

“Definitely not.” Erin lifted her hand in a wave. “Hi, Phoebe. Thanks for coming.”

Their officiant looked fairly happy to be there, all things considered. “Hello.”

“She’d gone home,” Abby said. “We had to go to her house to pick her up. Just so you know.”

“Well, we have a good reason for calling you here, and I promise we’ll compensate you for your time,” Erin promised. She glanced at Holtz. “We’re really hoping you can marry us, right here, right now.”

“With you two as witnesses,” Holtz said, passing over the marriage license. “Sound cool?”

“Good to know the two of you still want to get married,” Abby grumbled. “After the stunt you pulled, nobody was sure anymore.”

“We’re really sorry.” Erin took Holtzmann’s hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “We just couldn’t go through with the wedding. It wasn’t _us_. It wasn’t what we wanted.”

“This is all we want,” Holtz added. “To get married with our best friends at our side. And then to go to Paris, if the fates allow. I know you guys are pissed, and that’s cool. But can you be un-pissed for long enough to watch us get married? Then you have our full permission to hold a grudge for as long as you deem appropriate.”

“You really want to get married here? At the airport?” Patty looked around.

“We really do,” Erin said.

“Fine,” Abby said in a huff. “I will temporarily suspend my anger, but only because you’re my best friends in the entire universe and I love you. Got it?”

“Got it,” they replied in sync.

“Well,” Phoebe said, “this is certainly a new one for my career. Lucky for you, I’m always up for a challenge in the name of love.”

“Y’all want guests?” Patty asked.

“Sure, why not,” Erin said.

Patty cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled. “Hey! These awesome ladies are about to get married, if anyone wants to crash the party!”

Holtzmann raised a peace sign into the air. “We’re Ghostbusters, by the way,” she called.

Passerby began to stop and gather with curiosity, towing their suitcases behind them.

They arranged themselves over by the window, Phoebe with her back to it, Holtz and Erin in front of her, and Abby and Patty on either side of them.

“I’ve still got the rings,” Patty said, reaching into her pocket, then frowning. “Wait…”

“Oh, right!” Holtz pulled the rings out of her own pocket. “I nicked those back at the hotel earlier.”

Patty glared at her and grabbed them from her. “I don’t like that you can pick my pocket without me noticing.”

Holtz stretched onto her toes to pat her on the head. “Don’t sweat it.”

“Shall we begin?” Phoebe asked with a smile.

-

Erin’s head was heavy on Holtzmann’s shoulder as they taxied out to the runway. She hadn’t even made it through the safety briefing before falling asleep.

Holtzmann was exhausted too after spending all night dancing and partying under the fluorescents with her wife, best friends, and half the airport. Sure, gate B33 wasn’t the ritzy reception venue that most people would choose, but it was everything she needed.

-

_“Do you, Leanne Jillian Holtzmann, take Erin Gilbert to be your wife?”_

_Erin looked over her shoulder at Abby. “Did_ you _know her name was Leanne?”_

_“Of course I did,” Abby replied._

_“This is news to me,” Patty interjected. “What the fuck.”_

_Holtzmann cleared her throat. “I do,” she said loudly, squeezing Erin’s hands in hers._

_-_

She was holding Erin’s limp hand between their seats now, humming under her breath and bouncing her knee as the plane accelerated down the runway. She lifted their clasped hands and kissed Erin’s wedding band, then lowered it back down. She watched out the window as the nose of the plane lifted off the ground and the earth fell away from them.

-

_They swayed and turned in a slow circle. Holtz’s head was resting on Erin’s chest, one hand on her waist._ Rhythm of the Night _was playing tinnily from her phone, which was sticking out of her breast pocket. It was only really loud enough for the two of them to hear._

_“I can’t even remember what song they had us dancing to,” Erin murmured, “but whatever it was, this is better.”_

_“Much better,” Holtzmann agreed._

_“Holtz?” Erin whispered after another rotation. “Do I have to call you Leanne now?”_

_“I formally request that you don’t.”_

_“Oh, thank God.”_

_Holtz laughed into her chest._

_-_

Erin jolted awake. “Are we there?” she asked blearily.

Holtzmann chuckled. “We’re still taking off.”

“Oh.” She snuggled back into Holtz’s side. “Okay.”

They continued to climb into the clouds, and Holtz resumed humming, and her wife was solid beside her, and she was happy.


End file.
